Rule's home looked exactly how Harper imagined it would. The grounds were well kept, but there were hints of humor scattered about if one bothered to look closely. Some of the most beautiful plants were sculpted right next to the walkways, yet had thorns hidden within their branches. 

Another thing that screamed Rule was the generally odd layout of said walkway. Most of the cobblestone wound about the estate but few actually came to an end anywhere useful. The majority of the paths twisted into hedges or large trees. Two, Harper noticed as he finally slid from the carriage and stretched his aching body, ran right into stone walls. 

A firm hand dropping onto his shoulder brought Harper's attention up to Rule as the man stared down at him with a big grin. "Welcome home, Hari." 

Harper's face warmed at the honestly he felt in the man's words. His eyes turned back to the large, dark brown and white estate. It was a beautiful building and he could definitely see himself learning its many halls and working hard, but he knew better than to be too optimistic. He hadn't even met the rest of the help and he still had to be extremely careful about hiding his gender. 

Nodding to Rule finally, Harper returned the man's smile and hurried to follow after him as he strode forward. They climbed the ivory white stairs, then were let inside by a butler at the large double wooden doors that had more window than door. 

Unable to help himself, Harper stopped just inside the foyer and stared at the massive inside. Windows lifted high into the air, unobscured by drapes, like his master's windows tended to be. Not that he minded, but with such large windows, light streamed inside amazingly well. The bright red carpet that ran from the front door straight up the main staircase that split to either side once upstairs was beautiful, and the marble walkway on either side of it shown in the light. 

"Oh my! Who is this, my lord?" A woman no older than thirty asked as she hurried forward to take Rule's coat. Draping it over her arm, she eyed Harper a little unnervingly, though she seemed to try and hide it behind a wide smile. 

"This is Hari. She's going to be helping out here for the week. Please teach her the ropes well, Matilda." 

The woman walked over and placed her hand on Harper's shoulder, much like Rule had, but when he headed toward the stairs after waving to them, her nails begin to dig into his skin. 

"Come on then, we have much to do." 

He was a bit surprised that he was lead to the kitchen, instead of the servant's quarters where he could put his things down. It was also brightly lit and well taken care of with staff bustling about. "Drop your bag in the corner and grab a bucket. There's a spigot outside the door there," she said, motioning to a door at the far end of the giant room. 

Harper hurried to do as she said, dropping his small bag and grabbing a bucket lined up along the wall. He wasn't sure why he couldn't just use the sink another maid was getting water from, but he didn't argue. When he returned with the bucket, the woman promptly shoved several rags into his chest, then pointed out the door. "Go scrub the entryway, then all of the stairs." 

Biting back a frown, Harper nodded and went about his task. He worked quickly and efficiently, doing his best to get up tough mud stains and any dirt that had fallen into minuscule scratches. He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't notice time slipping away until Matilda's black flats appeared in front of where he knelt, scrubbing away at a tough smudge that he almost had up. 

His eyes rose to meet hers, but she didn't look pleased with his hard work. Her arms were crossed over her ample bosom and her brown hair was messily trying but failing to cover her grey eyes' angry glare. 

Sensing that he was in trouble, Harper jumped to his feet and bowed his head slightly. 

"Do you know what time it is, Hari?" The woman asked, making Harper frown as he glanced up at the windows, their light having somewhat dimmed over the hours he'd worked. He lowered his gaze back to her and frowned. "Perhaps around four in the afternoon?" 

Living on the streets, he'd gotten fairly good at judging the time by the placement of the sun, and the woman actually looked rather surprised, but she didn't let the expression show for more than a second. 

"Then you should know that it should not take half a day to wipe down the floor!" She hissed, clearly wishing to yell, but not wanting to cause a scene. 

Harper bit back a nasty response and simply nodded. "I do apologize, I thought you wished for me to scrub the floor... it was quite dirty." 

He hadn't gotten everything yet, either, so he wasn't too happy when she pulled him away and put him on the task of washing dishes. There was a surprisingly large amount, and no one seemed able to help, even though there had been plenty of people in the room when he'd arrived earlier. The few that remained seemed busy with their own tasks.

It was nearly six hours later when he finally had everything washed, dried, and put away in the spots where they belonged, which he had to figure out on his own in the huge room. His eyes were already half-lidded by the time he finally turned around, wiping his hands on the last somewhat clean hand towel in the room. 

Oh. No one else is even here. 

He wasn't sure where they had all gone, but as his stomach rumbled, a large cart piled high with dirty dishes was pushed into the room by an older man dressed in a pair of worn black trousers and a matching shirt. 

"Madam Matilda said that you would be waiting for this, Ms. Hari?" The man questioned, drawing a sigh from Harper as he grudgingly nodded. 

So I had missed supper while washing the dishes, and now I'm to just keep working. 

He'd expected to work, and wanted to prove that he could, but he hadn't expected such a cold welcome. Rule was one of the most charismatic people he'd ever met, yet the man's household seemed even more distant than Arthur appeared to act sometimes. 

At least Arthur was never outright cold to me. Mean, sometimes, and plenty of other times, indifferent, but he didn't outright shun me and overwork me on purpose. 

It took a lot of effort to push his thoughts back to being positive. He could deal with an overbearing woman in charge of him. Eventually she would get tired of bothering him, but at the same time, he wondered how things would be different if he were to work at Arthur's, instead. 

"Good evening, Hari." 

Hearing Rule's voice, Harper quickly set down the last plate he'd been drying on the stack on the counter, then turned with a tired smile. He was glad to see the man, and not Matilda, standing in the doorway. When their eyes met, Rule's expression fell slightly and he stepped into the room, gesturing for Harper to come to him. 

Pursing his lips nervously, Harper slowly made his way to stand before the man, head down as he numbly stared at the hardwood beneath his worn shoes. His heart was thumping hard against his ribs at the thought of all of the things Matilda could have told him that he'd done wrong that day. His fingers twisted together in front of him, the gesture an obvious sign of his unease, but one he couldn't manage to control at that moment.

"Matilda has told me quite a bit about your first day." Rule finally said, his warm breath rustling the tips of Harper's hair with how close they stood.  

When Rule didn't continue, Harper hesitantly lifted his eyes to the man's chest and shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Am I to assume that not all of my ministrations were seen in a positive light?" He asked quietly, his voice rasping from forgetting to drink much during the day. 

 When Rule just chuckled and reached forward, stilling Harper's fidgeting with his own hands, Harper brought his gaze up to finally meet his. "Master?" He questioned, confused. 

Rule was grinning, but it was clear that he was quite tired. "Hari, has she told you where you'll be staying?" He asked as he walked over and picked up Harper's bag before he could even respond, then swung it over his shoulder before turning back to him. 

"Never mind, clearly, she hasn't. I do apologize for her behavior. I'd rather she not run you ragged before Arthur is to take you, so you'll be staying in the spare room attached to my sitting room, and be my personal maid for the week instead of helping down here." 

Harper's mouth dropped open but he didn't get a chance to argue with the man, nor would Rule have likely even listened as he promptly left the room with Harper's small bag of belongings. He had been worried about staying in the servant's quarters and being found out while trying to change, but he most definitely didn't think living so close, and working directly under Rule, was going to be any easier!